Digidoc664

Schools Attended

Peaks Island Grammar School, 1956 Portland High School, 1960 (with honors) Moody Bible Institute (Chicago, IL), 1961-63, 1966-68 – BA, Bible/Theology University of Maine (Portland), 1964-66 Virginia Commonwealth University (Richmond, VA), 1970-72 – BA, English College William & Mary (Williamsburg, VA), 1975-76 – M.Ed. (summa cum laude), Education (Administration) Southeastern University (New Orleans, LA), 1978-80 – Ph.D. (summa cum laude), Education (Adult Learning)

Marriage and Family Life

Met my wife, Ann, while attending school in Chicago, IL in 1962. We were married in June, 1964, prior to my returning to Portland to attend the UofM – needed a couple of years of liberal arts classes to gain degree at Moody Bible Institute. Our only child, our son, Bruce, was born in 1966 after our return to Chicago, IL.

Places Where I Have Lived

Portland, ME – during high school and one year working full time before starting college. Then for a couple of years while attending UofM.
Chicago, IL – school, part-time work until 1967, when I served as Minister of Christian Education.
Richmond, VA – taught 7th & 8th grades until we began the high school, at which point I taught Bible and English.
Norge, VA – started a Christian school, teaching grades 1-3 and served as Minister Christian Education in sponsoring church.
Seaford, VA – taught 7th & 8th grade English at the intermediate and high school of Yorktown, VA.
Norfolk, VA – worked at various jobs until employed at the electric utility.
Chesapeake, VA – worked at electric utility and consulted.
Omaha, NE – worked at the electric utility
El Paso, TX – retired here after health issues for Ann forced our early retirement

Places Where I have Worked

Hannaford Brothers – Jan. 1959 – Aug. 1961 (provided computer support from last semester of junior year of high school until left for college in Fall, 1961.
Federal Reserve Bank (Chicago, IL) – 1961, 1962-64, 1966-67; worked as error checker part-time while attending Moody Bible Institute
Turner Construction Company (Chicago, IL) – Spring, 1962; was drafting aide part-time while attending Moody Bible Institute
Kings Department Store (Portland, ME) – Fall, 1964 – Spring, 1965; retail sales manager part-time while attending UofM
Portland News Company (Portland, ME) – Summer, 1965 – Spring, 1966; provided support for distribution of paperback books to local businesses.
St. Paul’s Union Church (Chicago, IL) – 1967-68; Minister Christian Education, while attending Moody Bible Institute and for about 8 months full-time.
Richmond Christian Schools (Richmond, VA) – from Fall, 1968, until Spring, 1971 when I attend VCU full-time.
Lightfoot Christian Schools (Lightfoot, VA) – from Fall, 1972 for an academic year (Pastor/Board would not allow children of color in the growing school; I moved on)
York County School District – 1973-1981; taught English in the Intermediate School for 3 years before accepting position in the High School. Taught numerous adult education life skill courses during this time.

Left teaching to go to China as English as Second Language professor in Sichuan Province, PRC. Being unable to sell our house, and needing the proceeds to settle indebtedness before leaving (about 90% of earnings from People’s Republic of China had to be spent in that country, by terms of contract), we were not able to accept position. I worked during the next 15 months at 84 Lumber, as a car salesman, a security guard, and a contractor to nuclear utility industry before finally accepting full-time work at a nuclear power plant.

Virginia Power Company (Richmond, VA) – 1983-87; was the Emergency Planning Coordinator, training emergency response personnel at Surry Nuclear Power Station; was Supervisor Business Systems, managing about 3 dozen employees responsible for Cost Planning and for Materials Management.
Impel Corporation (White Plains, NY) – worked as Emergency Planning Senior Engineer, training plant personnel to respond in place of local responders in the event of a nuclear emergency to which the community refused to provide emergency workers (Civil Defense, Police, Fire, EMT’s, etc.). This consulting job paid nearly double what I had been making at Surry NPS, and took me to 4 different plants on the NRC’s Troubled Plants list during the next 2 years.
Omaha Public Power District (Omaha, NE) – 1989-2005; did training for Emergency Preparedness for a couple of years before moving to Human Resources to conduct supervisory and management training. Ended up working for Division Manager, Information Technology to help him resolve human performance concerns in his IT Division.

Things I Enjoy

I spend a great amount of time preparing to start an internet business publishing information materials and related services. I love spending time with our 3 grandchildren. I like visiting interesting places, but do not particularly enjoy traveling. Have spent some time researching family history and have over 1400 ancestors back to the 1500’s identified on just the Parkhurst tree. We tried square dancing here in El Paso, TX – didn’t really enjoy the experience. Health concerns have kept us from doing much in our retirement.

Where I Am Now in Life (Retired, Working, Traveling)

My wife of 47+ years, Ann, and I live in El Paso, TX. Health issues brought us to a warm, high (4,000 feet) and dry (normal relative humidity is about 20%) living environment. Both of us have enjoyed better health since moving here, but aging has created limits we did not expect.

Both of us have been life-long learners. Although Ann had experience in the legal profession and the mortgage loan Industry, we both are educators. Me, on several levels of public and private schools, including some college, in community self-help learning experience, and many years in business and industry. Ann, retired as a college English teacher, after returning to college in her late 40’s and earning both her BA and MA with highest honors.

We currently tutor a couple of Korean grade-school boys from different families up to five times a week. Ann, with reading and composition skills, me with everything else (especially mathematic, problem-solving and decision-making). When she needs me to spend time with the boys in English skills, I have the experience and ability to help there, as well.

What Is Important To Me, Today

I’m a little sad to say that maintaining good-quality health occupies much of our time. We have not acclimated well here in the nearly 80% Hispanic community. Our Eastern (USA) culture may be part of the problem. Our lack of school-age children, even more so, it seems. Perhaps our advanced degrees and education mind-set have been a factor. Having no links to our larger community makes us “outsiders”.

What is even more sad to us is our worship experience. Ann has been a child of God and our Lord Jesus Christ since she was 9. I became a believer at age 16. We have never experience difficulty in finding a group of like-minded people with whom to worship and serve, until we arrive in El Paso. We belong to a strong evangelical Baptist church, but we had to visit 7-8 others before settling in.

We have no ministry here, as such. Not within the church or through their various outreach programs. Partly, this is due to our not being able to be consistently involved, again related to health concerns.

So, we spend a fair amount of time communicating with family and friends we have made in other cities. We are closely involved in the lives of some Korean and Chinese families (we’re the “grand parents”; and there are even a couple of 5-6 year old girls who bear Ann's name).